Solid advice from Debt Self Help

Hi All!

I have been in contact with Malcolm Larsen, of Debt Self Help. He has been kind enough to offer very solid advice for people like us. You can also visit their site or contact him for more details. They offer a range of services designed to assist people finding themselves in debt.

Please read his letter below, it contains very handy information.

Thanks Malcolm!

MBD Victim


'There is no doubt that the consumer is much better protected then ever in the modern history of this country. South Africa can also be proud that the consumer protection framework in this country is amongst the most advanced in the world. However, as the government has felt compelled to enact the National Credit Act to protect the consumer, it would be naive to expect the creditors and their attorneys to change their practices built up over many decades over a short period of time. That just won’t happen. Get used to it. Here is a very short article on dealing with attorneys like MBD.

1. Stand up for your rights. Don’t take nonsense. Never let people talk down to you, you are as good as them. At the same time, treat the people who deal with you with respect.
2. Willingness to pay. You obviously have to be willing to discharge your obligations.
3. Ability to pay. You have to have an ability to pay, but it is your assessment of your ability to pay that is important, not anybody else’s.
4. You have to have all the documentation. Here we are talking about the documents signed by both parties, not the unsigned documents. Make sure you ask for and receive a copy if you do not already have.
5. All contracts must be complete. There should be no blank spaces. If there are spaces ask why.
6. Be found – if you have a credit agreement you have to ensure that the creditor or the attorney has your current address. You are not running away.
7. Answer your *&@#$ phone – do not let your phone ring out because it may be a creditor or attorney that you do not want to face. It could also be your daughter or the date you have been chasing. You simply can’t live your life in fear like that.
8. Check if the attorney is acting as an attorney or a debt collector. If it is as an attorney fine, if it is as a debt collector then you are under no obligation to deal with them. Deal directly with the creditor rather.
9. When dealing with your creditors or attorneys make sure you put everything in writing, either fax or e mail, never ever phone. Quite often creditors will tell you they don’t have an e mail address. In today’s age, no e mail address! If this happens to you then ask for the e mail address of their superior. Don’t take no for an answer.
10. Keep your records.
11. Don’t listen to negative talk from the creditors. Also don’t listen to threats. Never think “oh, they must know better”, quit often it simply is not true and they are just trying to bully you.
12. Understand that you are under no obligation to accept phone calls. If you do accept phone calls, only do so at times that is acceptable to you. Don’t accept calls at 8pm at night or weekends if you consider it an invasion of your privacy. You try phoning the creditor after 5pm and you won’t get hold of them, so why should it work the other way round.
13. The call centre operatives often will not talk to you unless you answer a few security questions. So refuse to answer.
14. “Please be advised that this call is being recorded” – That’s nice, but who has the recording, not you. Additionally, if you do talk to call centres, ask them to make a note of something that you say. The next time the call centre phones, ask that person to tell you what you said last time. Most often they can’t because they only record what they want to record, not what was actually said. Alternatively they get it wrong.
15. Sms’s - If you receive, just delete. The exception to this is if you receive an sms threatening legal action. Do not delete these, as you can use them to your advantage.
16. If you receive a letter stating it is in terms of Section 129 of the National Credit Act it is vitally important that you deal with it.
17. You may be told that your agreement doesn’t fall under the National Credit Act because it is pre-existing. This quite often is not true, but you need to check it.
18. If you have not paid your debt in three years and the creditor has not taken any action it may be prescribed (no longer due) in terms of the Prescription Act 1969. This is often the case with MBD Attorneys and the like, but you need to be sure.

Malcolm Larsen
www.debtselfhelp.co.za'